Thirteen days later, Apple held its big iPhone unveiling in
Cupertino, California. And while it confirmed everything in
9to5Mac's scoop, it also happened to use those same marketing
images that had previously leaked throughout its presentation.

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Apple

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Screenshot

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Apple

This imagery is also the first thing you see when you visit
Apple.com (as of September 14):

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Apple

Apple doesn't seem to mind using these photos of the iPhone XS,
even though 9to5Mac published them on the internet 13 days prior
to Apple's event. I understand Apple had probably filmed and
finalized all of the marketing materials for the iPhones a long
time before 9to5Mac published its scoop, but I'm surprised Apple,
with its ~$1 trillion valuation and
its distaste for leaks and leakers, doesn't want to use
different photos of its new iPhones on the main splash page of
its website.

One potential explanation could lie in how painstaking the
company's product photography process is, which one photographer
who had worked with Apple in the past, Peter Belanger, detailed in
a 2013 interview.

But assuming Apple has continued to use that same process to
create the perfect images of its new iPhones, one has to imagine
Apple at least took backup photos, or alternates compositions it
could choose from.
After all, the alternative is a constant reminder that its
marketing materials leaked early, and the photos that were passed
along in the weeks leading up to its big event were the real
deal.